FIFA's appointment of supermodel Adriana Lima as its global fan ambassador in a Women's World Cup year is "baffling" and sends the wrong message to players and fans, former FIFA Council member Moya Dodd said.
Brazilian Lima will "develop, promote and participate in several global initiatives" in her role as FIFA's first global fan ambassador, the governing body said in a statement on Monday.
ALMERIA, Spain - Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they were shocked 1-0 at lowly Almería on Sunday thanks to a first-half strike by El Bilal Touré.
Barça are top of the league standings on 59 points, seven ahead second-placed Real Madrid who were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Atlético Madrid on Saturday. Almería are 15th on 25 points, two clear of the relegation zone.
France captain Wendie Renard said on Friday that she will not play at this year's Women's World Cup to preserve her mental health, with fellow internationals Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani following suit.
Renard, who is widely considered to be one of the best defenders in women's football, played for France in international games against Norway, Denmark and Uruguay earlier this month.
She has 142 caps for France and plays for French side Olympique Lyonnais.
A bizarre Fiorentina disallowed goal vs. Braga confused just about everyone on Thursday when a VAR decision overruled goal line technology.
The introduction of technology to soccer has come with its problems, but most fans can agree the sport is in a better place now. Long past are the days of “no era penal” and Frank Lampard’s ghost goal vs. Germany. Goal line technology and VAR has seen to it that mistakes like those are incredibly rare nowadays.
I've been actively losing sleep due to feeling bad for Rennes defender Jeanuël Belocian. A freak Belocian own goal vs. Shakhtar Donetsk in the 119th minute of Thursday’s Europa League playoff match tied the aggregate score at 3-3 and sent the two teams to penalties.
Shakhtar would win the penalty shootout 5-4.
MANCHESTER, England - It was Groundhog Day for Barcelona at Old Trafford on Thursday as Manchester United fought back to earn a 2-1 win that knocked the Spanish side out of the Europa League, leaving the Catalans licking their wounds after another continental failure.
Last season they also ended up in the Europa League playoffs after finishing third in their Champions League group and were knocked out of Europe's second tier competition in the quarterfinals after a 3-2 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt at Camp Nou.
Heading into Thursday's Europa League playoff between Sevilla and PSV at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, the Spanish side simply needed to protect the 3-0 advantage they'd earned at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán last week while the Dutch club needed its own remontada.
PSV supporters willed their side forward, but the opening 45 minutes passed without much goalmouth incident. Sevilla's strategy was clear as early as the 33rd-minute when Marcos Acuña was booked for time-wasting over a throw-in.
MADRID - Spain's most capped player Sergio Ramos announced his international retirement on Thursday after being told by new coach Luis de la Fuente that he was not part of his plans.
The 36-year-old Paris St Germain defender, who won the World Cup in 2010 as well as two European Championships, has not played for Spain since March 2021, yet said he should have been given the chance to show he could still be of service to his country.
Sunday's EFL Cup final is a tale of two clubs desperate to herald the beginning of a new era with silverware. For Manchester United, ending a six-year wait for a major trophy would affirm Erik ten Hag's revolution. For Newcastle United, a 68-year drought would be remedied by the wealth of the Saudi PIF and the tinkerings of Eddie Howe.
Valencia's season plummeted to historically low depths on Monday after a 1-0 defeat at Getafe left Los Che on just 20 points from 22 matches, good for 19th-place in LaLiga and two points from safety.